Sheet-feeding mechanism



Feb. 19, 1963 J. HECKER 3,078,023

SHEET-FEEDING MECHANISM Filed July 2'7, 1959 IN VEN TOR Josef HECKER MZMUnited States Patent Ofihce 3,078,923 Patented Feb. 19, 1963 3,978,023SHEET-FEEDING MECHANldM .losei Becker, Krefeid, Germany, assignor toVoss, Biermann and C. L. Senger KG, Kreteld, Germany Fiied July 27,1959, Ser. No. 829,910 Claims priority, application Germany Feb. 11,1959 5 (Ilaims. (til. 226118) The invention relates to a sheet-feedingmechanism and, in particular, to an attachment for machines handlingstrips of textile or similar pliant goods, designed to achieve acontinuous feed of goods to the machine from a roll or the like. Theterm machine is to be understood as denoting any machinery andequipment, or combinations thereof, employed for washing, bleaching,mercerizing, dyeing, printing, steaming, moistening or drying, pressingor embossing, glazing and/ or similar operations. In all these cases,the problem is to allow the continuous equipment to operate withoutinterruption when the strip of goods running off a supply roll or thelike terminates and the empty roll is to be replaced by a full one woundwith a new strip of goods.

Ingenious devices exist that automatically perform not only the saidchange of rolls but also an operation of attaching the leading end ofthe new strip of goods to the trailing end of the previous strip ofgoods. Naturally, however, such devices are very complicated and hencefairly costly and apt to breakdown, and occupy considerable space. Theinvention relates not to devices of this kind, but rather to a simple,reliable and compact attachment, capable of subsequent installation, ifdesired, in the path of goods from the roll to the machine, and thiswithout requiring alteration of the normal intermittent pro cedure ofchanging rolls. By the usual known procedure, the nearly empty roll isbrought to a stop, the trailing end of the previous strip of goods iscompletely unwound, the leading end of a new strip of goods is sewnthereto, the empty roll is removed from its trestle, the full rollbearing the new strip of goods is set in place, and the new roll is setin rotation. During virtually the entire duration of this change ofrolls, the feed of goods to the continuous machine is interrupted. As arule, the machine must be stopped during this period, which may lead tovarious sources of trouble. The length of time that the portion of goodsthen in the machine remains there is increased, thus exposing itexcessively to aggressive chemicals in a bleaching apparatus, forexample, or drying it excessively in a drying apparatus.

To avoid this delicate stuation, slack storage means in the form ofloops with suspended dancer rollers or the like have been interposedbetween the supply roll and the machine. Apart from the fact that suchstorage devices are extremely bulky, they keep the moving strip of goodsunder constant tension due to the weight of the rollers or the like.Such strip tension is often quite disadvantageous, particularly forsensitive textile materials.

The object of the invention is to provide, in place of the expensive andimperfectly satisfactory known storage means, a device serving the samepurpose but, by favorable contrast to such known means, operating onlyat the time of roll changing, and delivering the strip of goods to themachine in tensonless condition. For this purpose, according to theinvention, there are provided, between guide rollers arranged atsuitable distance from each other between the roll of goods and themachine, a rubber feed roller preferably cooperating with a similarcounterroller, sheet-guiding means such as slide rods extendingobliquely beneath the rubber roller and outside the normal path of thegoods, the rods advantageously having their upper ends bent in circulararcs to engage matching annular grooves in the rubber roller while theirlower extremities form a flat side grill; a brush roller adjoins the slde grill near the upper end of an oblique chute consisting of slightlycurved rods turned up at their lower ends, the bottom ends of the sliderods and the top ends of the chute rods extend between the bristles ofthe brush roller. The rods of the slide and the chute may optionally beunited into continuous rods, forming an oblique grill between the rodsof which the bristles of the brush roller enter. The rubber roller maybe driven at variable speed, and the brush roller runs at a preassignedspeed ratio to the rubber roller.

In normal operation, the strip of goods fed to the preceding guideroller from the supply roll passes directly from the said guide rollerover the rubber roller to the following guide roller, and this withouttension, provided the rubber roller, by suitable regulation of itsdrive, is given a circumferential speed equivalent to the normal linearspeed of the strip of goods. But when the strip of goods has unwoundfrom the roll almost completely, the rubber roller is made to revolvefaster. In unit time, it will then pull more goods off the supply rollthan will run into the mach ne. Consequently, a loop of slack will beformed which will drop down the slide onto the bristles of the brushroller, the latter revolving at a speed suitably increased over that ofthe rubber roller. The brush roller accordingly propels the growing loopof goods downward on the adjoining chute, where the strip piles upaccordionfashion ahead of the turned-up ends of the rods forming thechute, thus creating a tensonless reservoir of goods. The machine runson undisturbed and unaffected by this process.

At the proper moment, the roll is brought to a stop, the trailing end ofthe strip of goods is unwound, and the end is sewn to the leading end ofa new strip of goods. Then the empty roll is replaced by the full rollbearing the new strip of goods. During these operations, the rubberroller has been stopped, so that the machine is merely withdrawing goodsfrom the reservoir created in the manner previously described. As soonas the full roll has been brought into operative condition, the drive ofthe rubber roller is started up again at the normal speed of thatroller.

Immediately ahead of the last guide roller, in the direction of motionof the strip of goods, there may be provided a width guide which ispreferably retractable downward out of the normal path of the goods. Ifthe stored goods, in piling up against the bottom of the aforesaidchute, have become folded to any extent, the width guide will smooth thefolds out again. If the rubber roller cooperates with a counterroller,and the strip of goods passes between the rubber roller and thecounterroller on its Way from the preceding guide roller, the

' counterroller will prevent any folding of the strip of goods upon therubber roller, both during normal feed to the machine and during theaccumulation of slack.

So long as the strip of goods is fed to the machine by the normal route(first guide roller, rubber roller, second guide roller), the deviceaccording to the invention requires no supervision or attention. Now ifthe machine is to be suddenly stopped for any reason, and no attendantis at hand to stop the drive of the rubber roller, an undesired pile ofgoods will form in the aforementioned manner. Then it may happen thatthe loop of slack will shoot upward, and not go down the slide to thebrush roller as intended. The rising loop of goods might be picked up bythe counterroller, against the normal direction of feed, in which caseit would pile up in a disorderly manner at the gap between counterrollerand rubber roller, readily leading to serious damage to the goods andinterference with operation. To exclude this adverse possibilityeffectively, deflector rods extending upward beyond the counterrollerare provided, their circularly bent lower ends engaging annular groovesin the counterroller. These deflector rods will throw back any loop ofslack shooting upward, so that it will go down the slide to the brushroller which will securely pick it up and propel it down the adjoiningchute.

The device according to the invention will now be more 'fully describedwith reference to the accompanying drawing, the sole FiGURE of which isa side-elevational view of an attachment embodying the presentimprovement but it should be understood that this is given by way ofillustration and not of limitation and that many changes in the detailsmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawing, a sheet of pliant goods 1, for example a strip offabric, runs over suitably spaced guide rollers 2 and 3, which may bearranged in pairs, from a supply roll (not shown) towards a continuousmachine 4 indicated by dot-dash lines, of the sort initially specified.Between guide rollers 2 and 3 there are a pair of rubber feed rollers 5and 6 which, however, may alternatively be covered with some elasticallyyielding material other than rubber, with the strip of material 1passing between them, and a width guide 7 which is preferablyretractable downward out of the normal path of the strip from guideroller 2 to rubber roller 5 and guide roller 3.

Obliquely beneath the rubber roller 5, having annular grooves 5a in itsperiphery, there are guide rods 8, consisting for example of8-millimeter steel rounds and forming a flat, oblique slide grilldesignated as awhole by the numeral 9. The slide rods 8, with upper ends8a engaging the annular grooves 5a of roller 5 by circular bends held inthe grooves by the overlying strip of goods 1 and counterrollcr 6, reston a supporting rail 10 with their lower ends 81) extending between thebristles Illa of a brush roller 11 adjoining the slide 9. The rubberroller 5.is driven at variable speed by a transmission 12, and normallyruns at a circumferential speed equivalent to the requisite rate of feedof the strip of goods 1 to the machine 4. The brush roller 11 is drivenby a drive 13 dependent on the drive 12 of the rubber roller 5 in apreassigned speed ratio to the latter.

The slide 9 and the circumferential sector of the brush roller 11,constituting an extension thereof, form an oblique surface extendingdownward in a flat grill designated as a whole" by the numeral 14. Thisconsists of gently curved slide rods 15 whose upper ends 15a extendbetween the bristles 11a of the brush roller 11 and whose lower ends 15bare bent upward. The slide rods 15 may advantageously be of the samematerial as the slide rods 8, for example 8-millimeter steel rounds.

If, just before the strip of goods 1 is about to unroll completely fromthe roll of goods, the speed of roller 5 is increased, a reservoir ofslack 1' will gradually be created on the chute 14 in the mannerpreviously described. The reservoir of slack is indicated as a dot-dashline in the drawing.

The counterroller 6 has annular grooves on like the grooves 5a, butpreferably oifset therefrom by half a groove separation in axialdirection. The annular grooves 6a are engaged by the lower ends 16a ofdeflector rods 16 extending upward behind the counterroller 6 andattached by their upper ends 16b to a supporting rail 17 or the like.

I claim:

1. The combination, with a machine for continuously treating a strip offlexible sheet material fed thereto along a transport path, of mechanismfor accumulating a portion of said strip and subsequently feeding it tosaid machine, said mechanism including main feed means positioned alongsaid path and operable at a rate in excess of the normal feed rate ofsaid machine for deflecting a portion of said strip downwardly, guidemeans inclined generally downwardly from said main feed means foraccumulating the downwardly deflected portion of said strip, said guidemeans having an upwardly extending terminal portion remote from saidmain feed means for directing the accumulated portion of said stripupwardly toward said transport path, and a rotary brush offset from saidtransport path and positioned below said guide means, said brushextending through said guide means into peripheral contact with saiddeflected portion while being rotated with a peripheral speed in excessof that of said main feed means for facilitating displacement of saiddeflected portion downward along said guide means.

2. The combination, with a machine for continuously treating a strip offlexible material fed thereto along a transport path, of mechanism foraccumulating a portion of said strip and subsequently feeding it to saidma chine, said mechanism including a pair of feed rollers positionedalong said path and extending transversely to said strip on oppositesides thereof, said rollers being operable at a rate in excess of thenormal feed rate of said machine for deflecting a portion or" said stripdownwardly,

guide means inclined generally downwardly from said feed rollers foraccumulating the downwardly deflected portion of said strip, said guidemeans having an upwardly extending terminal portion remote from saidfeed rollers for directing the accumulated portion of said stripupwardly toward said transport path, and a rotary brush offset from saidtransport path and positioned below said guide means, said brushextending through said guide means into peripheral contact with saiddeflected portion while being rotated with a peripheral speed in excessof that of said feed rollers for facilitating displacement of saiddeflected portion downward along said guide means.

3. The combination, with a machine for continuously treating a strip offlexible material fed thereto along a substantially horizontal transportpath, of mechanism for accumulating a portion of said strip andsubsequently feeding it to said machine, said mechanism including anupper and a lower feed roller positioned along said path and extendingtransversely to said strip on opposite sides thereof, said rollers beingoperable at a rate in excess of the normal feed rate of said machine fordeflecting a portion of said'strip downwardly, said lower feed rollerbeing provided with a plurality of axially spaced annular peripheralgrooves, guide means inclined generally downwardly from said feedrollers for accumulating the downwardly deflected portion of said strip,said guide means including a plurality of substantially parallel rodswith curved upper ends lying in respective grooves of said lower rollerand having an upwardly extending terminal portion remote from said feedrollers for directing the accumulated portion of said strip upwardlytoward said transport path, and auxiliary feed means offset from saidtransport path and positioned along said guide means in frictionalcontact with said deflected portion, said auxiliary feed means beingoperable at a rate in excess of that of said feed rollers forfacilitating displacement of said deflected portion downward along saidguide means, said upper feed roller being provided with a plurality ofaxially spaced annular peripheral grooves, said mechanism furthercomprising a plurality of substantially parallel upstanding deflectorrods having curved lower ends lying in respective grooves of said upperroller, the grooves of said upper roller being offset axially from thegrooves of said lower roller.

4. The combination, with a machine for continuously treating a strip offlexible material fed thereto along a substantially horizontal transportpath, of mechanism for accumulating a portion of said strip andsubsequently feeding it to said machine, said mechanism including anupper and a lower feed roller positioned along said path and extendingtransversely to said strip on opposite sides thereof, said rollers beingoperable at a rate in excess of the normal feed rate of said machine fordeflecting aportion of said strip downwardly, said lower feed rollerbeing provided with a plurality of axially spaced annular peripheralgrooves, guide means inclined generally downwardly from said feedrollers for accumulating the downwardly deflected portion of said strip,said guide means including a plurality of substantially parallel rodswith curved upper ends lying in respective grooves of said lower rollerand having an upwardly extending terminal portion remote from said feedrollers for directing the accumulated portion of said strip upwardlytoward said transport path, and a rotary brush offset from saidtransport path and positioned below said guide means, said brushextending through said guide means into peripheral contact with saiddeflected portion while being rotated with a peripheral speed in excessof that of said feed rollers for facilitating displacement of saiddeflected portion downward along said guide means.

5. The combination, with a machine for continuously treating a strip offlexible material fed thereto along a transport path, of mechanism foraccumulating a portion of said strip and subsequently feeding it to saidmachine, said mechanism including a pair of feed rollers positionedalong said path and extending transversely to said strip on oppositesides thereof, said rollers being operable at a rate in excess of thenormal feed rate of said machine for deflecting a portion of said stripdownwardly, guide means inclined generally downwardly from said feedrollers for accumulating the downwardly deflected portion of said strip,said guide means having an upwardly extending terminal portion remotefrom said feed rollers for directing the accumulated portion of saidstrip upwardly toward said transport path, at least one supplementalroller disposed along said transport path and directly above a portionof said guide means rearwardly of said terminal portion for taking upsaid accumulated portion of said strip, said supplemental roller andsaid feed rollers defining said transport path in an inoperativecondition of said mechanism, and a rotary brush ctfset from saidtransport path and positioned below said guide means, said brushextending through said guide means into peripheral contact with saiddeflected portion while being rotated with a peripheral speed in excessof that of said feed rollers for facilitating displacement of saiddeflected portion downward along said guide means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,531,498 Peirce Mar. 31, 1925 2,180,601 Mitchell et al Nov. 21, 19392,265,052 Anderson Dec. 2, 1941 2,596,625 Vergo-bbi May 13, 19522,826,479 Cole Mar. 11, 1958

1. THE COMBINATION, WITH A MACHINE FOR CONTINUOUSLY TREATING A STRIP OFFLEXIBLE SHEET MATERIAL FED THERETO ALONG A TRANSPORT PATH, OF MECHANISMFOR ACCUMULATING A PORTION OF SAID STRIP AND SUBSEQUENTLY FEEDING IT TOSAID MACHINE, SAID MECHANISM INCLUDING MAIN FEED MEANS POSITIONED ALONGSAID PATH AND OPERABLE AT A RATE IN EXCESS OF THE NORMAL FEED RATE OFSAID MACHINE FOR DEFLECTING A PORTION OF SAID STRIP DOWNWARDLY, GUIDEMEANS INCLINED GENERALLY DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID MAIN FEED MEANS FORACCUMULATING THE DOWNWARDLY DEFLECTED PORTION OF SAID STRIP, SAID GUIDEMEANS HAVING AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING TERMINAL PORTION REMOTE FROM SAIDMAIN FEED MEANS FOR DIRECTING THE ACCUMULATED PORTION OF SAID STRIPUPWARDLY TOWARD SAID TRANSPORT PATH, AND A ROTARY BRUSH OFFSET FROM SAIDTRANSPORT PATH AND POSITIONED BELOW SAID GUIDE MEANS, SAID BRUSHEXTENDING THROUGH SAID GUIDE MEANS INTO PERIPHERAL CONTACT WITH SAIDDEFLECTED PORTION WHILE BEING ROTATED WITH A PERIPHERAL SPEED IN EXCESSOF THAT OF SAID MAIN FEED MEANS FOR FACILITATING DISPLACEMENT OF SAIDDEFLECTED PORTION DOWNWARD ALONG SAID GUIDE MEANS.